Conceptualizations of Race: Essentialism and Constructivism

Abstract

Demonstrating how race is socially constructed has been a core sociological objective, yet many individuals continue to hold essentialist and other concepts of what races are and how to account for group differences. These conceptualizations have crucial consequences for intergroup attitudes, support for social policies, and structures of inequality, all of which are key sociological concerns; yet much of the research in this area has emerged outside of sociology. Our review of this interdisciplinary scholarship describes the range of views people hold, the attitudes and behaviors associated with them, and what factors contribute to these views. We focus primarily on essentialism and constructivism, although we describe the greater variety of beliefs beyond this dichotomy, as well as fluidity in how people use these concepts. We conclude by presenting research on strategies for reducing essentialist belief systems and identifying key areas for future research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Sociology, Volume 49 is July 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Through the cultural looking glass: Diversity ideologies and cultural sharing in intercultural romantic relationships

“…It is important to note that people may express and experience these ideologies differently. For example, colorblindness and multiculturalism are associated with essentialism and believing that people can only belong to one cultural group (Roth et al, 2023). This may be problematic for bicultural individuals in intercultural relationships or bicultural children of intercultural couples, as part of their identity may be denied through these essentialist beliefs.…”

“…In this work, we define culture as a system of perspectives (e.g., norms, values, beliefs) that are shared and passed down by members of a social group (Albuja et al, 2022), and define race as a social structure referring to groups of individuals based on their biological characteristics that are perceived to be inherent (Roth et al, 2023). Generally, race has often been used as one indicator of culture (along with ethnicity or nationality) and viewed as a part of culture (Albuja et al, 2022).…”

“…Colorblindness assumes that prejudice arises when people emphasize irrelevant group categories (e.g., race) and that prejudice can be reduced by ignoring cultural differences (Ryan et al, 2007; Wolsko et al, 2000). Colorblindness is based on essentialism , the belief that members of a group share qualities that are biologically based, fixed, and unchangeable, rendering all members of the group uniform and group membership exclusive (i.e., individuals can only be a member of one group; Roth et al, 2023; Wilton et al, 2019). Essentialism is related to increased stereotyping (Tadmor et al, 2013).…”

“…Polyculturalism is rooted in changeability and growth and views cultures as interconnected and dynamic while encouraging exchange between them (Morris et al, 2015). This view relates to constructivism , the idea that racial categories are flexible and can change across time or contexts in different societies (Roth et al, 2023). Thus, people who endorse polyculturalism hold malleable beliefs about cultural differences.…”

Racial disparities without racism: Some conceptual & analytical considerations

“…This oversight obscures the social construction of race (Benjamin, 2014;Fields & Fields, 2014;Smedley & Smedley, 2005;Williams, 2019), reduces race to an ahistorical demographic characteristic of the population (Williams, 2019), and produces deficit interpretations of Black families (Bryant et al, 2010;Williams, 2023). Centering racism is important because biological explanation still permeates the American imagination about racial inequality (Chatters et al, 2022;Morning, 2011;Roth et al, 2023;Soylu Yalcinkaya et al, 2017;Yaylacı et al, 2021). As such, the purpose of this paper is to make an argument that there is a critical need for family scientists to recast racial disparities as racism manifested in the lives of many Americans.…”